A Bachelor of Technology graduate in Chemical Engineering from IIT Kanpur in 1975

• Completed doctoral work in 1983 in the field of Molecular Biology. A PhD from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.
• Worked as a Research Fellow from 1984 to 1985 and then as a Senior Research Fellow from 1986 to 1988, at the California Institute of Technology
• In 1988, joined the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research as a Reader.
• Instrumental in establishing the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) in Bengaluru in 1992, under the aegis of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR)
• Undertook in-depth research to understand the important principles and mechanisms that control the nervous system and muscles during development, and how these neuromuscular systems direct specific locomotory behaviors.
• Former Director of the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bengaluru. Currently serving as Emeritus Professor
• Served as Secretary, Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India from January 2013 to January 2018

Awards

• Foreign Associate of the US National Academy of Sciences
• Fellow of the Royal Society
• Fellow of The Academy of Sciences for the Developing World
• Distinguished Alumnus, IIT Kanpur
• Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, Indian Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Sciences
• Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research

Major Initiatives

Major initiatives as PSA, which made significant impact to the STI landscape of the country

PM-STIAC | Empowered Technology Group

Awards Summary

Significant Awards
Padma Shri in 2013